Neighborhood Business Infringement Is a Thing of the Past... Kakao Drives Social Contribution Projects

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] Last year, Kakao faced turmoil over controversies regarding 'alleyway commercial district infringement,' but this year, the entire community including its headquarters is showing a near-complete transformation by engaging in social contribution projects.

◆ Supporting Small Business Owners through 'Soshin Sangin' and 'Jegabeochi' = According to the industry on the 22nd, Kakao announced a sustainable growth plan in collaboration with society last April, pledging to establish a total of 300 billion KRW in mutual growth funds over five years. Since the second half of this year, it has been actively operating various programs that provide practical assistance across multiple fields.

First, Kakao launched the ‘Soshin Sangin’ project to support merchants nationwide who run their businesses with conviction. For traditional market merchants who find digital communication challenging, tutors reside in the markets to support digital transformation, offering KakaoTalk channel education and various benefits through the ‘Our Neighborhood Regular Market’ program. The first project is underway at Shinyeong Market in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, and an additional 10 traditional markets nationwide are being selected.

Kakao is also operating the ‘Jegabeochi’ project through its impact commerce platform ‘Kakao Makers,’ which opens sales channels for domestic agricultural, livestock, and marine products. This project reduces producers’ inventory burdens, lowers environmental costs in the ecosystem, and contributes to price stabilization by balancing supply and demand. Over about a year, approximately 1,740 tons of agricultural, livestock, and marine products have directly reached around 320,000 consumers. The cumulative transaction amount has reached about 7 billion KRW.

◆ Affiliates Also Roll Up Their Sleeves for Social Contribution = Last month, Kakao Entertainment established ‘Kakao Creative Foundation,’ the first domestic foundation for webtoon and web novel writers, and launched the ‘Online Creative Academy’ for cultural content creators. Going forward, it plans to expand various programs including ▲creative activity support projects ▲aspiring creator support projects ▲campaign public interest projects.

In August, Kakao Games participated in the ‘Let’s Go Together Kakao Games Mutual Growth Fund’ worth 26 billion KRW. It plans to continue active investments targeting domestic small-scale developers and indie game developers with high potential. Additionally, to address digital blind spots, it is recruiting ‘Youth and Teen Digital Supporters’ to promote the positive influence of games and continue mutual growth activities.

Kakao Mobility is focusing on job creation and support for mobility-vulnerable groups. Last year, aiming to create 1,000 ‘good jobs’ for the hearing impaired, women, and youth, it announced platform technology development and employment linkage programs with affiliated transportation companies, strengthening functions for the disabled and supporting the hiring of disabled drivers to expand taxi job opportunities. It also operates the ‘Seodaemun Hope Car,’ providing destination transportation, boarding and alighting assistance, and matching with care workers, among other activities supporting mobility-vulnerable groups.

Hong Euntaek, Co-CEO of Kakao, emphasized, “Mutual growth is not just a mission Kakao must undertake to grow, but an essential core value that enables sustainable growth between society and companies. We will spare no effort to support small business owners in successfully transitioning digitally and to help partners achieve tangible profits.”